World Cup 85 || RP Thread

[Chromatika]

Chromatik City Courier
Jordan Lawless, Sports Columnist

Group 3 Matchday 9: Chromatika 3–1 Alba and Cymru @ Eshan
Chromatik Scorers: Etienne '12, Vidal '52, Conrad '88
Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Tioux; Ruth - Rondeau - Ibex - Rowles; Kim, M.S. - Avis; Etienne - Gail - Han; Vidal (C).
Substitutes: Kim, M.J. -> Gail ('57), Friedman -> Rondeau ('73), Andisori, B. -> Vidal ('84)
Projected Starting XI @ (95) The Sarian (2-2-4): Williams (C); McBee - Anderson - Friedman - Austic; Kim, Limones - Dias; Kelly - Kuzami - Conrad; Andisori, B.

THE COVE, LHOR, CHROMATIKA -

For the first time this campaign, Chromatika has won its second match in a row! Nine games in, Chromatika gave the home crowd a showing this time around.

It also was a good thing that three new scorers showed up on the sheet, as Chromatika is starting to score more often. Up to sixteen goals in eight games now, after five goals in the first four games. In comparison, This is how many goals Chromatika averaged since World Cup 75:

WC 75: 23 Goals in 12 Games - 1.92 Goals/Game
WC 76: 30 Goals in 12 Games - 2.50 Goals/Game
WC 77: 48 Goals in 18 Games - 2.67 Goals/Game
WC 78: 44 Goals in 16 Games - 2.75 Goals/Game
WC 79: 50 Goals in 18 Games - 2.78 Goals/Game
WC 80: 42 Goals in 18 Games - 2.33 Goals/Game
WC 81: 56 Goals in 18 Games - 3.11 Goals/Game
WC 83: 34 Goals in 12 Games - 2.83 Goals/Game
WC 84: 43 Goals in 20 Games - 2.15 Goals/Game

Now, they're up to 2 Goals/Game. Still got a ways to go.

Three matches to go before the half. Ending with nineteen points would equal the number of points that the top placed team has for the moment, but it is also doable.

A road match at The Sarian awaits, then Sabalonia, and then Savojarna.

And then run it back, with more success this time.

[Farfadillis]

And off I cut.

[Cheergirls]

Meghan Banks Blog Entry before Ko-oren Match,

Good evening fans! As you know we have arrived here in Ko-oren and are a little excited but very nervous about playing a team of their caliber. We have tried to watch how they play so we can be ready for them, but I don’t know if we really can be. This makes it hard for me, because I try to be as good of a leader for this team, and I will give one of my speeches before the game to uplift our spirits. We are going to do as good as we can, but unfortunately there is some bad news. We will not be able to have the cocoabo milkshakes before this match because once again Tara Milford’s mother will not be with us on the road, and we were not able to get all of the ingredients out here to Ko-oren. I don’t think that we would have been able to find them in the stores here, so we are going to have to forego our tradition that has seen us go 4-1-0 in the five games that we have done it.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who is watching us. It is exciting to try and qualify for the World Cup, and even though it is very unlikely that we will do so, we have proven a lot of people wrong. There are a lot of people out there who don’t think that we should be trying to do this. Thankfully, I know that there are more of you who believed that we could do good enough and win a few games along the way. Those games are going to get harder now as we begin a very tough and challenging portion of the schedule. We will try as hard as we can, I promise!

[Jeruselem]

Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas (nude) at Dazza Dallas Stadium with Daisy Cutter (nude)

Kate:
Hello! This is Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem for another World Cup 85 qualification game.
Of course we're back home at Dazza Dallas Stadium, I'm with fellow nudie Daisy Cutter or Daisy Dallas.
I'm supposed to be talking to the coach Boris but he's gone into hiding again. Well, he does this everytime we lose.
So I have my apprentice Daisy here. She's not that football literate actually, for a Dallas.

Daisy: Hello, don't worry about me. I'm a dumbass really.
Kate: A huge game today, we had Nephara visiting. The top team in Group 7 who have not lost a single game.
Daisy: They looked serious about winning
Kate: So they should, we want to win too. But it doesn't always happen
Daisy: True
Kate: So Daisy, I'll let you review the other games for us.

Daisy:
South Charlia failed to win another game, going down to Sarzonia at home. So Sarzonia win another game.
Darmen failed to impress at home holding visitors Huayramarca to 1-1 draw when they should be winning. Good news for the other teams them not winning.
Aimena hosted Great Lausitz who beat Darmen. But they failed to take home advantage with both teams taking home 1 point for 1-1 draw.
Delaclava hosted Welzat who needed a win to keep up with top teams but both teams had 3-3 draw which was more exciting than 1-1 I guess.
Acronius got home win over Simpralia 3-1. One of the two home winning teams.

Kate:
That comes to us, and Nephara with their near perfect record, that was blotted by 1 draw.
Sadly we lost 3-1. But hey look, it wasn't all that bad!
Darmen hosted Nephara and still lost 3-1. So you know it wasn't terrible.
We expect them to top the group, so let's just forget about this game. We know we're not as good as them.
We will fight to get 2nd spot.
This sounds defeatist but we're being real.
The team tried really hard just to stop our opponent but it's hard to beat a beat who are so good.

Daisy: But this meant we lost ground again
Kate: I can understand losing to teams like Darmen and Nephara, we aren't that good. We need to work on beating other teams.
Daisy: But we can beat these good teams
Kate: But we have to get them on a bad day
Daisy: Hopefully we can

Kate:
So we did lose and it's not from the lack of effort today.
I'm not going be critical and we did make mistakes for sure.
But it was under pressure from a team who know how to win!
The table looks OK still for us.

Daisy: I guess we got the hard game out of the way.

Kate:
Nephara lead once again, 25 points. No losses and 1 draw.
Sarzonia jumped to 2nd spot with their win on 18 points. It's a tight table.
Darmen in 3rd on 17 points and then Jeruselem on 16 still in 4th.
Welzat still there in 5th on 15 points.
Acronius and Simpralia on 13 points, Huayramarca on 12 in 8th.
Great Lausitz and Aimena on 10 points, and Delaclava on 9 in 11th.
And the two teams who'd like to be doing better.

Daisy: So what now?
Kate: Well, 3 more games left and importantly 3 more byes to sit out for other teams.
Daisy: Good news then?
Kate: Welzat and Simpralia have byes left, so does South Charlia. They can only gain 6 points until the end of this 1st half.
Daisy: I see
Kate: At best, we can be in 25 points but that requires 3 wins. 2nd spot has changed between teams so we have to keep winning, today was a set back but one we kinda expected.

Daisy: So I guess it's not too bad
Kate: It could be worse as they say
Daisy: True
Kate: We have to track down Boris now.
Daisy: Yeah
Kate: See you all later. We're looking for a talking mop, help us find him.

OOC
Group 7
South Charlia 0–2 Sarzonia
Darmen 1–1 Huayramarca
Aimena 1–1 Great Lausitz
Jeruselem 1–3 Nephara
Delaclava 3–3 Welzat
Acronius 3–1 Simpralia

[Sarzonia]

Five matches prior to tonight's away fixture against bottom table South Charlia, Sarzonia national football team manager Kevin Connelly warned his charges about a "trap match."

That was prior to Sarzonia's home match against Welzat, which immediately preceded their away trip to Nephara to play the world's fourth ranked team.

That warning seemed to fall on deaf ears as the Stars lost to Welzat, sending Connelly into a rage. The subsequent defeat away to Nephara, however, was hardly a surprise.

Connelly had more reason to smile this time. Sarzonia defeated South Charlia 2-0 to earn their fourth consecutive victory to improve to 6-0-3. Of more importance to Stars supporters, the result improved Sarzonia's position in the Group 7 table to second. That's right: If World Cup qualifying ended right now, the Stars would be making reservations for their first appearance in a World Cup group stage since the Stars co-hosted World Cup 57 with Cafundeu.

Connelly, meanwhile, isn't all that concerned about the group table just yet. He favours taking a one match at a time approach, saving the examination of broader implications for postmortems.

"We haven't accomplished anything so far except for a modest win streak against teams we're supposed to beat," he said. "The two matches we had against the teams we expected to challenge us didn't go to plan."

To wit: Sarzonia lost their first official home match against world No. 75 Acronius 2-0 on the second matchday of qualifying, then suffered a humbling 4-1 loss away to Nephara. Unlike the Welzat match that immediately preceded the beatdown at the feet of the Cormorants, the loss in Sabrefell saw Connelly take a more philosophical tack.

"We knew playing away to the world's fourth ranked side wasn't going to be easy," he said. "We were competitive against Banija in four matches during the previous cycle, so it was a real wake-up call to see what playing against a potential World Cup challenger is all about. Even if we played a perfect match, we still would have been hard pressed to get a result in Nephara."

Now the task becomes more difficult for Connelly and company, as the Stars get ready to face Pot 2 side Darmen in what initial research suggests is the first meeting with a Darmeni opponent in Sarzonia's football history. Even though the match will be played at Dave Wilson Stadium Woodstock before a packed house, Connelly said the Stars would have a difficult challenge.

"Darmen are an excellent team," he said. "They faced a tough opponent in Huayramarca and ended up playing to a 1-1 draw. They're going to be hungry to get points in an away fixture."

Darmen also have simple motivation to secure a result in Woodstock. They currently sit third in the table just one point behind the Stars. Clearly, with a long qualifying campaign in the offing, this one match likely won't make or break Sarzonia's chances to advance to the proper. However, midfielder Brady Reynolds said the match would serve as a "measuring stick" for whether the team's current form was more about weak competition or the team actually turning the corner.

"We've been playing to good form lately, but we're going to get Darmen's best effort when they line up against us," he said. "That match will be an outstanding measuring stick for us to see where we are."

They'll get an idea if the team's progress was the result of the soft underbelly of the schedule or if the team was genuinely better. Assistant manager Kevin Wilson said he thought it might be a combination of the two.

"Do I think we're one of the two best teams in this group? Not likely," he said. "Do I think we're starting to gel as a team? Probably."

For the Stars, Ernie Mabree and Clayton Wilson notched the goals in the first half and Carlton Sandt made five saves to notch his second consecutive clean sheet and his third in the past four matches. Connelly admitted that when he watched the young goalkeeper play, he couldn't help thinking about older brother and World Cup Committee Hall of Fame keeper Horace Sandt.

"He's having a stretch that very much reminds me of Hor in top form," Connelly said.

GROUP 7
South Charlia 0–2 Sarzonia
Darmen 1–1 Huayramarca
Aimena 1–1 Great Lausitz
Jeruselem 1–3 Nephara
Delaclava 3–3 Welzat
Acronius 3–1 Simpralia

-  Group 7                                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Nephara                                       9    8   1   0    33    5  +28    25
 2 Sarzonia                                      9    6   0   3    22   19   +3    18
 3 Darmen                                        9    5   2   2    22   16   +6    17
 4 Jeruselem                                     9    5   1   3    27   20   +7    16
 5 Welzat                                       10    4   3   3    13   14   −1    15
 6 Acronius                                      9    4   1   4    20   19   +1    13
 7 Simpralia                                    10    4   1   5    17   18   −1    13
 8 Huayramarca                                   9    3   3   3    18   18    0    12
 9 Great Lausitz                                 9    3   1   5    13   16   −3    10
10 Aimena                                        9    3   1   5    10   21  −11    10
11 Delaclava                                     9    2   3   4    20   23   −3     9
12 Competitive Solitaire                         9    2   2   5    10   22  −12     8
13 South Charlia                                10    1   1   8     8   22  −14     4

SCHEDULE:
MD 1: @ Delaclava^ W, 6-4
MD 2: v. Acronius L, 0-2
MD 3: @ Simpralia (Glory Park, capacity 122,000) W, 5-3
MD 4: v. Welzat L, 2-4
MD 5: @ Nephara L, 1-4 (Farham Arena, Sabrefell, capacity 88,046)
MD 6: v. Great Lausitz W, 1-0
MD 7: @ Huayamarca (Estadio Olímpico del Oriente, Sechura, capacity 26,000) W, 4-2
MD 8: BYE
MD 9: v. Competitive Solitaire W, 1-0
MD 10: @ South Charlia W, 2-0
MD 11: v. Darmen
MD 12: @ Aimena
MD 13: v. Jeruselem
OFF DAY
MD 14: v. Delaclava (game played at Pride of Manchester, capacity 110,000)
MD 15: @ Acronius
MD 16: v. Simpalia
MD 17: @ Welzat (Sir James Tretol Memorial Stadium, capacity 19,595)
MD 18: v. Nephara
MD 19: @ Great Lausitz
MD 20: v. Huayramarca
MD 21: BYE
MD 22: @ Competitive Solitaire
MD 23: v. South Charlia
MD 24: @ Darmen (Stadio Rushmore, Johnho, capacity 70,000)
MD 25: v. Aimena
MD 26: @ Jeruselem (Dazza Dallas Stadium)

^Match was played at Dave Wilson Stadium in Woodstock.

Note: Except for the match in Manchester, Delaclava, all of Sarzonia's home matches will be played at Dave Wilson Stadium in Woodstock, capacity 105,900.

[Northwest Kalactin]

History Lesson!
The History of Northwest Kalactin
That’s right kids! You heard us right, it is time for a history lesson of Northwest Kalactin. Today we will be going through an overview of the start of the nation and the revolution tomorrow we will be checking out the second part.

Early Settlement
That nation has always been settled by people from all the different parts from Atlantian Oceania, but the First Nation there was the Capitalist Imperial Union. The union gave many freedoms to the people in all of its colonies. The main 3 colonies where Northwest Kalactin, Pripet Socialist Republic and North New South Wales. The CIU lost the PSR first in 1764 and Northwest Kalactin would come next about 40 years later.

Revolution, Part One
In 1803 the revolution was on the horizon, the people of Northwest Kalactin wanted a government that could control the people, the current government had very little control and crimes where very common. The Republic of Northwest Kalactin was founded in 1805 and the CIU sent troops to control the rebellion. The local militia got ready for battle with the large CIU conscript army. The coastal militia, which numbered about 15,000 set up ambushes for the capitalist army. They did not know where the troops would land so they sent defenses up all over the coast. The CIU army, not knowing the area invaded at north of Coffs which was a bad area to invade, the area has rigorous terrain and had a large militia unit that was near the are ready to squash an attack. The militia waited until the CIU had established a beachhead and struck at night. They brought 2 ships behind the armies to keep them trapped on the mainland, the militia struck and the battle was over before it began. The militia had captured half of the CIU army within 12 hours and the CIU was on the run. The CIU was now cut off and they had almost no knowledge of the area, they tried to regroup and stage another attack but it was pointless, the militia was too well organized.

Match Report
Northwest Kalactin 3-1 Terre Septentrionale
Well folks, that was quite a game for the Kalactanians. They took a team that they expected to lose to coming into the match day and they gave them a run for their money and beat them. Jimmy McCarthy started off the game for the Kalactanians with a goal in the tenth minute. The goal was on a great header by Dillan that went wide. The corner kick was then taken by Matt Hall who made a beautiful cross into McCarthy. McCarthy handled the ball well and tapped the ball in for a goal. Terre Septentrionale got their first and only goal of the game in the second half during the 46th minute on a free kick. A player from Terre Septentrionale made a kick out from 25 yards but it would be all the team could manage as they would not score again that day. The final 2 goals of the game came from Luke Dillan who surely had a great game for the Kalactanians with 2 goals and an assist in a good win for the team.

What does this mean?
A great win for sure, we don’t think that at this point we will end up qualifying, however a Cup of Harmony berth would surely help cement this Kalactanian team in peoples minds. The team wants to grab some points against teams that will challenge them, and this game will certainly make sure that people remember this team when they come around for the second half of qualifying.

[Tequilo]

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THE CONTINUING MIDADVENTURES OF GARCÍA de CORCOLES
The Scooter

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LILÍAN: The Bar | The Gold | The Gum | Frank Sent This | The Guardian
GARCÍA: The Fire | The Banjo | The Scooter | The Raft | The Border

García de Corcoles dreamed of that girl he had met whilst on pitxi duty back home in Tequilo, what seemed a lifetime ago. It was raining. The girl was with an older woman who was painted bright colours, and a man who looked like an ironmonger; they were carrying buckets of glue, and with sticks, were flicking the glue at him, so that each time he got a gob of glue on him, he became less mobile. They were chanting, and he couldn’t help feeling this was a bad thing. The girl laughed and made some sign, and the old woman turned into a resplendent jackdaw and flapped around his head, creating a hurricane. A hole opened up below his feet and he began to be drawn into it as if it was a draining plug.

And then he woke up to his waking nightmare at the cabin of the Appalaxian lunatics the Cooterbucks. The last he recalled, they were just about to chop him up for pig feed. But he wasn’t chopped up, nor hanging off a meat hook, though of course, with broken bones all over his body he wasn’t exactly comfortable. Why wasn’t he pig feed already? He tried to piece together the last moments from his memory - the accusations of attempted geriatric kidnap, the trial by Gram’ma, the sentence of butchery… and then what? Yes! These were Appalaxians of course - anything that could go wrong, probably would, along with some things that really shouldn’t go wrong also going wrong. Off they had all gone to get their choppers and cleavers and axes and grinders and so forth, leaving Gram’ma unattended for the moment. For long enough for Gram’ma, the ancient lunatic, to take a loaded blunderbuss off the wall, take aim at García, misfire, blow her hand off onto the lit camping stove where it tipped over onto the floor, igniting the oil-stained rug, blowing the gas canister which shot through a partition like a cannon ball, deflected out of the kitchen window and careered up at the water butt on stilts, exploding that in a wholly unexpected ball of flames because, after all it was not water but a tank full of highly flammable blot ’shine. The spewing flames fell onto the tar pitch roof which went up with a whoosh, and caused every Cooterbuck who still had both hands to attend to their entire estate which was now up in flames.

Gram’ma had gone up with a howl, while her separated hand barbecued nearby. Under the direction of Clem Cooterbuck, the boys were running to the stream with what buckets they could find to dowse the roof of their home. Meanwhile the girls guided by Ma Claudette made to release the hogs from their pen which was already hit by flying torches and starting to go up. But once out of the pen, the pigs caused chaos, attacking the boys who had regularly mistreated them in thoroughly inappropriate ways, and a huge scuffle broke out between pigs and men. Clem intervened in an attempt to break them up, while mother and the girls took over bucket duty. It was far too late - the cabin was burning inside, outside top and bottom. The pigs had turned savage and were haranguing the boys, who had taken flight into the woods to escape but were being pulled down and savaged one in turn. At this point Clem realised Gram’ma must still be in the cabin and leapt in to save her, never to be seen alive again. The girls spontaneously burst into song, finding no other way of providing assistance at this difficult time, while Claudette, seeing the end of all things, started to wonder how the hell this had all happened.

García had not waited to see this through of course, indeed had no idea how badly things were going for the Cooterbucks. He was already scrambling away unnoticed, taking the easy route by rolling down the hill toward the narrow road curling through the mountains. He had no plan. Something would come to him - and it did… in the form of Jeremiah Clout, the itinerant and ancient preacherman of these parts, riding up the hill on his electric scooter. He’d already met García once, when he was brought in to advise on the financial opportunity of kidnap and ransom, agreeing to use his wide contacts to see if he could make a deal with someone to buy the stricken footballer from the Cooterbucks for a reasonable price. Perhaps he was on his way up there now with news of a deal. He pulled up next to the broken mud-caked rolling man, the filthy Tequiloan, and glared down at him.

“Well now, looky here…” he said. But no more than that. No longer prepared to wait on the whim of others, García - thirty broken bones and all - was taking the initiative. Grabbing a rock in his one almost good hand, he managed a dead-eye shot straight to the side of Clout’s head, knocking him clean out of the scooter. With a Herculean effort, he dragged himself up into the seat of the escape vehicle, pulled the acceleration lever, turned it in a downhill direction, and made off away from that hillbilly hell at a flat out 9km per hour, never once turning back.

Aat the top of the hill, through trees beginning to catch light, Claudette and the young sisters watched, and made note.

MATTIJAÑOS IN FRIGHT: BARNSTORMER DELIGHT
TEQUILO 4-3 Mattijana HT: 4-1

Location: Estadio Pablo Invocador Att: 52,998
SCORERS: Niño Pinto 1’ 2’ 25’ Chicchan 43’ | Mattijaño#5 15’ Mattijaño#11 73’ Mattijaño#4 84’

Everyone was hoping for a win, but nobody could have expected the game that unfolded at El Volcán, which exploded straight out of the traps with two goals in two minutes and a very serious statement of intent from young attacking midfielder Niño Pinto. He and fellow youngster Masango Sukè were magnificent as Los Pitxileros hammered Mattijana for 45 minutes, finishing the half 4-1 ahead and really feeling like they should have had a couple more. The second half was more finely balanced, with Tequilo on top for most of it and dominating play until the Mattijaño winger pulled a goal back and the final fifteen were a bit of a nervous wobble. Particularly after the visitors had closed the gap to a single goal with only a few minutes left to play - it rather distracted from a brilliant showing as the home side were forced to cling on. But later, down at the cantina, fans will remember only Niño Pinto and Masango Sukè, and a quite barnstorming display of youthful confidence that put the Mattijaños to flight.

Los Pitxileros travel to Indusse next for a hard-to-call fixture; after a slow start, like Tequilo they have picked up a bit of form and will have benefitted from a rest on the last match day, although when the going is good, you don’t always want to stop. Keeper Oscar Bienvenida, so central to the turnaround of our form, will miss out with a one match ban following three yellow cards in the last four games; original number one Ferran Teixidó gets a recall and will be hoping his form is up to scratch. Vilca Hualla retains his place even with the fit-again Isidor Artechevarria ready for selection, an endorsement of his fine form, while double-player of the match and hattrick hero Niño Pinto took a knock in the last game and will start from the bench, with Onorato Claver, the 27 year old midfielder from Los Miñeros, making his international debut in the continued absence of team captain Mateo Tafalla.

---

Starting Line-Up for TEQUILO @ Indusse:
Teixidó | Zambo, Apeiztegui (Capitan), Huracán, Huachalla | Callañuapa | Vilca Hualla, Claver, Sukè | Gorostola & Tlacolotl

[Xanneria]

Worn out maroons get point versus Blouman.
By Steve Stevenson

BLOUMAN EMPIRE - Coach Rhule knew this could happen, Blouman right after Equestria, a game Coach Rhule had called his best lost he ever achieved? That had all the trappings of a trap game. So getting a point out of that was good for the team as Equestria and Huelavia have dug in at the top but this upcoming week they will clash. This will leave a Xannerian team whose facing Fujai, in the driver seat. The game was again another slugfest as both scores came early and Devon'elle Laymore got another goal on his bid to become the all time single cycle goals leader. Meanwhile HUElavia had an off day and is only one point ahead of Xanneria while they play Equestria next week. With us getting a game against Fujai it's very possible we could jump ahead of HUELavia again.

Here's Coach Rhule's Comments

I heard a lot of HUElavians were praying for this result to help them out. Well If I were them I would have waited a week to pray and pray they don't get embaressed to bad by Equestria. I am pleased for Fujai, I think they are another team like Vdaara who could go places if they get it all together at the right time.

[Twicetagram and JYPe]

The Chosen One: Prologue
between AOCAF and BoF, 9 pm

---

Lesley: Surname Chase, volunteered to be a test subject im a mysterious experiment she herself doesn't know about yet. Looks and seems cold, buy when you unlock her real heart, a gush of sympathy and kindness rushes out.
Doctor Jen: The leader of the experiment, she chose Lesley to be her guinea pig. Her personality resembles tyat of a villain; she may seem kind and happy, but she has a sinister plan within her mind

I woke up to see myself lying down on what looked like a hospital bed. There were tubes connected to my body everywhere, especially the area around my heart. There were a couple of monitors around me. I didn't understand the readings on them, but I knew that they were some sort of code. I picked up a mirror and looked at my reflection, so I was assured that my gender or appearance hadn't been unlawfully changed. Heaving a sigh of relief, I continued to observe my surroundings. The room I was in looked like a futuristic science lab. Everything just looks so technologically advanced. I waited for maybe half an hour, before Doctor Jen, who was the leader of the experiment, entered the room with a writing board.
"Great, great. How are you feeling, Miss Chase? Was your rest good?" She asked. The way she said it made her sound like an evil mistress, but I was too tired to connect any of the dots.
"I'd be better. I feel a bit tired --yawn-- even after my rest." I told her, while not being able to resist myself.
"Don't worry dear. I'll let you have your night's rest after my brief briefing," she said. Flipping to one of her documents, she read out, "Hi Miss Chase. It is an honour for someone as high-profile as you to volunteer for this experiment. We promise we won't release private information about you, nor will this damage your reputation."
"Basically, what we're doing is basically something like Boyfriend Corps: after analysing your personality, emotions and contacts, we have come up with a list of people who romantically match you the most. You will be able to choose who to go out with, but I'll get there in a while."
She paused for a while, before continuing, "This experiment has allowed you to experience lucid dreams daily. This may sound a bit alarming, but it won't affect your physical or mental health. On your first night, you will be able to choose someone first. Then, that person will be revealed. You will meet that person the next day, and that person will confess his feelings to you. From that day on, you will only dream about what will happen between you and that person. As it is a lucid dream, you can control whatever happens. The next day, the same things will happen, but you have the liberty to change the effects."
Dr Jen breathed for a while, before she asked, "I know it was long, but I hope you get it". Smiling sweetly at me, she left the room.
I was quite skeptical about this. First of all, my life would be changed forever. I would have to devote my time with whichever lover I had. I wasn't a fan of lovey-dovey stuff, which probably made it worse. But what can I do? I unknowingly volumteered to do this, so I had to suck on it.
My eyes was drooping, and I had a game in the coming days, so I decided to sleep tight.
I opened my eyes, not in real life, but in my dream. I was in some sort of chamber, and I was seated on a throne. There were thirteen chairs ahead of me, facing the front. That way, their identities would be disguised. Just then, I heard a sound.
"Miss, please make your decision now." I knew that I had to pick, or else something bad would happen. Like a normal person, I chose the person at the far left. Just then, the chair turned towards me. The person on it, shrouded in a black fog, walked towards me. As the black fog went away, I could barely make out the silhouette. After the fog went away, I could see who the person was.
"Carmi?"

--end of prologue--

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Khazajamal- 0
[no scorers]

Twicetagria- 1
Fanny Torreira, 72'

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – A Huge Undertaking

"The strats are unfortunately not working well for us," Valentijn started, with his team and the other Valentians standing in the table. He continued on, "That, and I had to deal with an entirely different problem, if you guys recall a few days back."

He would be talking about the match against the Hapilopperians. For all intents and purposes, the people there were really kind souls and they manage a very healthy relationship with the Valentians in terms of friendship, sportsmanship, and just about any other. However, it would be that one person that made it rather difficult for both sides.

Nathan Ellis.

After the Hapilopperians scored their goal on the 53rd minute, Nate saw Clarissa running down the pitch with a ball and on that very 81st minute, he tackled her hard. Like really, really hard. The resultant forces sent Clarissa tripping and flying a few meters away from the ball, landing head first on the field and planting her face onto the grass. It was a shocking sight for both the Hapilopperians and the Valentians, though the latter weren't that concerned. There was a red card, and Clarissa seems like she was injured, but she simply shrugged off the damage. If it was anyone else, synthetic body or not, they would be out.

"Ehh, she will live," Jenny remarked on the sidelines with Germaine letting out a gasp.

Valentijn, watching the match on the dropship's television throughout the entire match, went out of the way to exit the ship and walk towards the stadium.

"Valentijn?" Angeline and Jamie asked, both of who are in the pilot beds (just right beside the cockpit). "Uh-oh..." Angeline took a light gulp as she radioed in to the rest of the Valentians.

"Errr, guys... Val is coming your way."

"Val as in, Valentijn?! Wait, he cannot barge into the stadium!" Jared exclaimed, worried about what was probably about to happen given the shenanigans on the football field. He changed the frequency to Valentijn, who was storming towards the front gates and passively startling the security.

"Valentijn, I know you are angry about that whole thing but err... You can't go in right now."

"Oh, don't worry about that," a surprisingly calm voice came from the 100+ meter tall man, "I know what to do."

Startling a few security guards, he had little to no resistance in making his way to the stadium, perhaps except from trying to navigate his way around to make sure that he didn't damage anything in the process.

The cameras would all point towards this man in a medieval armor coming in from one of the bigger entrances and to the corner of a field. The security would try to stop him, but it was reconsidered not because of Valentijn, but at that moment, the match was over anyway (90').

"Warning! Multiple innocents in the vicinity!"

The on-board computers in Valentijn's armor would light up with multiple reticles, not necessarily to shoot, but to identify and playback what is happening. Clarissa began communicating with her husband.

"Hey, dear! Ohh, don't worry, I'm fine! Please don't hurt him, please?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm just going to pick him up, Clarrie, don't worry. Are you all right?"

"Never better, hm hm! So are you gonna just intimidate him?"

"Yeaup! Hey, people do love a view from 115 meters!"

"Oooh, intimidating, haha!"

Valentijn quickly and carefully picked up Nathan, followed by easing his grip and putting him on his fingertip. The man was already intimidated enough by this move, with Valentijn trying his best to make sure that he don't fall off from his fingers. The man was stationary and trembling, sure, but he could simply fall off at any moment, which Val didn't want.

Valentijn, in the meantime, would just be talking from inside the helmet and quietly to Clarissa. To an outsider, no one would hear anything, and Clarissa would not be moving her mouth.

"So... This is Nathan?" Valentijn started off.

"Yeap, that's the guy that tackled me! Dear, do you know him?"

"Nah, hell no! He seems like he's gonna crap himself. Or faint. I really hope he's not gonna faint and fall off."

"From whatever noise and signals I picked up, seems like his team was angry with him too. "How could you hurt Clarissa Alanis Star?!" I'm so flattered, hehe!"

"You got a pretty big fame from NSSCRA! I'm very happy for that. How are you doing as a lone attacker?"

"Not too good, Vallie! I think I could use another attacker. We are very defensive, but we are not doing the offense."

"We will consider that later, I suppose. I gotta put this guy down now."

"Sounds like a good idea! Ooooh, so many cameras looking at you!"

Valentijn looked at one of the cameras in the stadium, along with the crowd of people in the seats. He used his other hand to wave at them while slowly crouching back and putting Nathan back on the ground.

"Ehh, you will live. Come on, play fair with my wife, will you?" Valentijn finally spoke out at Nathan, while giving him a Vulcan hand sign and walked off slowly.

"Come on, team! I think we had our 15 mins of fame, hehe."

The rest of the Valentians packed up their stuff and followed Valentijn back to the dropship like ants following a food trail.

"Damn, Val, I really thought you were gonna kill someone!" Jared exclaimed, letting out a sigh in the meantime. He, along with Chief Senator Annette, were the ones that were more terrified about the ramifications of their actions, especially with Valentijn barging through. Fortunately, no one was hurt that day.

Perhaps except Nathan's prideful boasts.

-----

That would be what happened in the stadium that day. Having played a few more matches with the other nations, the Valentians decided on a change in formation.

"We will need a new attacker to aid Clarissa," Valentijn continued on, "I'm thinking either Jolyn or Augustine, but for the time being, I'll let you guys decide on who wants to be at the front with Clarissa."

"Could we run 5-5-1 if we want to? 5 attackers, 5 mids, 1 defender?" Adriana suggested, "we could totally be high up there on the offensives!"

"I thought of that, but that's a little risky. We should try adding attackers slowly while working on the defense. It's clear that we will need to be a bit more offensive, but at the same time, everyone needs to help Holly out with keeping goals away from her."

[Taeshan]

Taeshan 1-0 Freeport
X Island Metropark, X Island, X Island, Taeshan
Torres 77'

Glowing Up

I remember a conversation I had with one of my friends during an offseason a few years ago. We talked about all the great times we had growing up. We had played soccer together in 4th grade, and then he had gone on a mission’s trip to Banija, those Mormons, what can I tell you? So, during middle school his family moves back to Taeshan and back into their old house and we start going to school together. I thought I was smart but Jessie, Jessie was a different level. I was in advanced math for my age, he was in advance math for the grade above us. Not only was he smart, he was popular. Not only was he popular but he was able to run the conversation at lunch and keep us all engaged. He was the leader, you know.

I had a hard time talking to people for a few years. I remember as a kid I’d talk to the other kids all the time. Didn’t matter who they were, how well I knew them, If I knew them at all. I was skilled at going up to people, starting a conversation. As an elementary aged kid, I was able to go up to anyone and start a conversation. Then middle school happened. 100’s of knew kids, barely any of my old friends in classes with me, it was a really weird time for me. All the new girls to crush on, all the new girls I’m crushing on not to talk to. It was tough.

I remember me and Jessie hanging out a few times, but the real moment was when I started crushing on this cute Blonde my Sophomore year. She sat over in the other canteen during lunch. So, after a while of sitting with the other loners I went one day and sat with Jessie and his crew. A bunch of guys and girls that I didn’t know. This was weird for me, because I knew them. But I didn’t. I didn’t feel confident enough to talk to them for the most part. Until Jessie started conversing with me during lunch I would just kind of hang out. I didn’t want to bother anyone.

Looking back this was kind of ridiculous. That group of friends turned out to have so many of the people I still hang out with these days. The people that hit me up as my career advances. The true originals. But It took me months to feel comfortable engaging in the conversation. I was an awkward kid. I mean a lot of kids are awkward, but I was really awkward. I think over time that dissipates, but that doesn’t mean that initial awkwardness didn’t exist.

So, I had this conversation with Jessie later. He laughed. Couldn’t believe that I wouldn’t talk until spoken to, but he also sorts of sat for a moment and I felt it clicking with him. I became a professional soccer player but as a teenager I couldn’t talk to my friends at lunch without being spoken to first. I’m a social butterfly with people I do know now, and sometimes with people I don’t know. But back in the day, I couldn’t talk to the people who sat with me at lunch. It’s rather ridiculous a thought.

Elaine Mathieu

[PotatoFarmers]

1. From this point on, I would be changing my style modifier to +1.787. No further changes is expected, as this is likely to be a one-off change in strategy ICly.
2. For the game against Qvardax, all the descriptions made of their team is purely based on their roster and/or RPs as posted in the 72nd edition of the Baptism of Fire.
3. For Andromeda Island Group, all the descriptions made of their team is purely based on their roster and/or RPs as posted in the Qualifiers for the 84th edition of the World Cup.

Matchday 9: Qvardax vs Poafmersia
Poafmersia 1
Shakira Handris 45'

Qvardax 0

First 11: Sandi Jaliaha; Alex Pickford, Pasits Rikachz, Danzik Hoboson (c), Denise Pickford; Gisiik Moonar, Goon Figsh, Daas Taisg; Joel Haodao, Shakira Handris, Pete Carisa
Substitutes: Hansel Tang (Haodao 71')

---

Matchday 10: Andromeda Island Group vs Poafmersia
Andromeda Island Group 3
Phil Thomas 14', 62'
Steffi Tucker 45'
Poafmersia 3
Shakira Handris 38' (pen)
Joel Haodao 78'
Pete Carisa 90'
First 11: Sandi Jaliaha; Alex Pickford, Pasits Rikachz, Danzik Hoboson (c), Denise Pickford; Gisiik Moonar, Goon Figsh, Daas Taisg; Joel Haodao, Shakira Handris, Pete Carisa
Substitutes: Dikash Johikas (Jaliaha 30'), Ftiks Wariq (Figsh 62'), Donk Mason (Taisg 80')

At Andromeda Island Group
You can imagine the relief on Adnan's face when Pete Carisa scored the 90th minute equaliser, converting a valuable freekick past Rachel Medrano to ensure that Poafmersia grab hold of one point to go above Damukuni after the match against Andromeda Island Group.
In the National Stadium of Andromeda Island Group, Poafmersia wasn't able to deal with a side whose main strategy was to create confusion. It didn't help that Sandi Jaliaha got a concussion when he was fighting for the ball with Phil Thomas of the home side, forcing an early substitution from Adnan. And at that point Poafmersia was already 1-0 down. Handris got himself a penalty after getting fouled in the box by Kelly Bach to equalise, but a offense-oriented 3-3-4 was difficult to deal with. The opposition romped up the goals, which caused Adnan Suliaha to panic and made one early substitution with Fitks Wariq coming on for Goon Figsh to shore up the leaky defence. Despite Joel Haodao scoring 1 goal in the 78th minute, Adnan made another substitution. Donk Mason came on for Daas Taisg in the 80th minute, in an attempt to push for the equalizer and possibly the winner.
"Gosh, now we just need to score a goal," said Adnan.
"It is not as simple as scoring. Apart from the damage control by equalising, we need to stop them from scoring their fourth. That is, based on our leaky defence today, is a huge problem," replied Katiri.
"So what do you suggest?"
"I guess our strategy should become more pace and speed oriented. Our players should not be as forward-looking, but rather, only push forward when the situation is in our favour."
"So...a more defensive tactic?"
"Of course! Our 4-3-3 now works that way, so we can be even more motivated to focus on possession and pace."
Adnan stood up, passed the message to the wing players, so as to ensure that the team focus on defending the ball instead of solely pushing forward. It sort of worked, considering that Pete was able to score the eqauliser when he pounced on a clustering of players to run forward with the ball to score."
The draw, however, was not up to Adnan's standard. The defence just went downhill against an offence-oriented team, and Adnan was determined to make defending a key cornerstone of the new tactic. It would take time, but against a bunch of teams who are on a similar level as Poafmersia, there is lot of room to experiment tactics and a new strategy. But the next set of teams is an interesting set of teams, and 9 out of 9 points is the main target of the coaching team. This is especially so since Poafmeria is 6 points off 4th placed Quebec, and a total of 10 points off 2nd placed Brenecia.

---

As for the match against Qvardax, there was really nothing much to look at. The opponents are a very young squad that plays really defensively, and there are some good players such as Len Tqandas (fullback) and Tokjar Hyvir (Center Midfielder) who do have some potential. Nevertheless, the match was pretty lobsided with Poafmersia dominating events, and Shakira Handris scored the only goal of the night.
Ah, let us talk about the next 3 teams. First, it would be against bottom side Revatnagar, in Mancodas at the Camp of Power. Revatnagar's only point came in a draw against Quebec, while they have lost all 5 of their last matches. This would be followed by a trip to Crystalline Caverns, who is languishing in 9th place with 9 points (2-3-4). They have had a mixed form, winning their recent match over The Grearish Union, but have been alternating between losing and drawing for the 6 matches before. Lastly, it will be a home match against Emastalia, at Libira. Emastalia is currently 2-4-3, but their recent 5 matches is in terrible form - LDDLL. Nevertheless, their rich domestic history is something that is surprised Adnan when he heard about it, and that he would field a strong side against Emastalia.

First 11 against Revatnagar: Dikash Johikas; Graciia Warisian, Timothy Gausun, Alex Hoboson, Konile Trasa; Daas Taisg, Ftiks Wariq, Stegaj Johnatson; Joel Haodao (c), Bytia Hisel, Whitney Rios

[Baggieland]

The Daily Boing

Baggieland 3 – 2 Aldaveria FT (1 – 1 HT)

Baggieland’s good form continued with another win against Aldaveria.

The Throstles took to the pitch looking for another win in their bid to put some distance between themselves and the bottom of the table. Things got off to a shaky start as it was Aldaveria who made all the early running and produced some neat attacking moves, that thankfully came to nothing. As the half wore on, Baggieland became more and more of an attacking force. The home support was rewarded with a goal in the 33rd minute when Bassett sprinted down the right wing, cut inside and then passed to an unmarked Regis. The attacking midfielder had plenty of time to pick his spot and curled a delightful shot into the top of the net. The crowd was silenced soon afterwards though, when Aldaveria conjured up an equaliser. Baggieland had a decent chance to regain the lead just before the break, but Richardson’s shot was straight at the goalkeeper.

The second half had a timid start to proceedings, with neither side doing much attacking for the first 15 minutes. However, it was Aldaveria who brought the game back to life when they scored their second goal and had some in the stadium worried. Fortunately for Baggieland they didn’t have to wait too long to get back onto level terms. It was that tried and trusted combination of a Brunt corner met by a McAuley header that brought equality back to the scoreboard. The faithful only had to wait another five minutes for Baggieland to regain the lead that they had lost in the latter stages of the first half. This time, a cross-field ball from Pennington found Ginger, who had replaced Richardson just two minutes earlier, and his hold-up play was exceptional. This allowed Regis to run past Ginger and he laid the ball perfectly into his teammate’s path, leaving Regis to poke the ball home. In the latter stages both sides had a decent appeal for a penalty, but the ref paid no attention to either.

Baggieland stats:

Scorers:
Ronnie Regis: (33’, 74’).
Jonas McAuley: (69’).

Possession: 52%.
Corners: 8.

Tournament scorers:
Jeff Richardson: 6.
Bomber Robson: 5.
Ronnie Regis: 4.
Ray Brunt: 2.
John Moore: 1.
Jonas McAuley: 1.

International goals:
Jeff Richardson: 10.
Bomber Robson: 5.
Ronnie Regis: 5.
Ray Brunt: 4.
Jonas McAuley: 2.
Chris Barlow: 1.
John Moore: 1.

[HUElavia]

Special Preview: HUElavia vs Equestria

Tonight, HUElavia will play in one of their most important matches ever played in a World Cup Qualifiers: Against Equestria, the #8 team in the Multiverse and the Champion of World Cup 83. This is another match that is regarded as a "High-Stakes" and with massive implications for Group 11. The scenarios are simple: If Equestria wins, they are essentially running away with the group right before the half-way point of the qualifiers and puts HUElavia at risk of dropping to 3rd or even 4th (Dependent on the matches played by Xanneria and Kandorith). Although, should HUElavia wins, the group is wide open once again, with HUElavia coming within 2 points shy of 1st Place, and possibly have a "Battle Royale" between Equestria, HUElavia, Xanneria and, lagging slightly behind, Kandorith. A draw sees Equestria move a little up, and possibly Xanneria taking 2nd Place, while HUElavia drops to 3rd Place.

HUElavians have been flocking to houses of worship, praying to their God (or Gods) for a favorable result for Los Amarillos. Some feel optimistic that an upset is on hand to favor HUElavia, some feel worried of a potential loss that can happen. Regardless, well over 530 Million HUElavians will be supporting the team through these qualifiers, especially with tonight's match.

HUElavia will officially play with the Home Uniform, with Ricardo playing as the starting Goalkeeper and team Captain, due to seniority over Hierro. The match is sold-out, in Estadio Capital in Curumba, with roughly 12,500 Equestrians coming to support their team. Tonight, the stadium will be a very hostile environment for the Group Leaders. HUElavia will look to exploit the defense of Equestria, who's two draws have come from 4-4 draws each.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Nephara]

Jeruselem 1 - 3 Nephara
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 2 - Stride, 5 - Thorn, 6 - Brosch, 3 - Close (c, 19 - Muscadin 67'); 13 - Saroszi, 4 - Shone, 21 - Moxham (7 - Kuepper 75'), 11 - Strongbow (vc); 9 - Bastable (17 - Avetisyan 82'), 10 - Metzger
Goals: Saroszi 16', Brosch 22', Metzger 64'

THE HERALD
HISTORY OF THE PREMIERSHIP PART 6: UNLIKELY HEROES
Leonora Fischer

Goodfeather FC have been relegated. This is a blow for the Quakers from which they are yet to fully recover; they had been consistently punching above their weight with a penchant for clever foreign signings. Hell, they'd brought in one of the league's first in Willans. Brinemouth, on the other hand, are flying; stranded halfway into the season, they're now on course to repeat their earlier feat of three consecutive titles. They visit with full expectation of victory. Someone puts a microphone into Goodfeather manager Malta Fletcher's face. She doesn't talk about her own season, that's been and gone, nor does she directly discuss her opponents. Instead, she says; “If we can’t win this match for ourselves, let’s win it for Starling. If the Dockers win the league for a third season in a row, even after the start they’ve had, this league risks becoming a one-club show. If Starling win it… it’s a reminder that, in Nephara, you get the same slot on the pyramid and the same 11 players as everyone else, and the same 46 matches to prove what you can do. I want the Passerines to win the league, and I’m pretty sure everyone else who doesn’t support Brinemouth or the Moths is feeling the same.” A slick team goal finished by Sabrine Portsgate cancels out a screamer from Locke to secure a 1-1 draw. The Passerines' challenge survives.

It had taken people a long time to realise what was happening until it was already very much happening. Sure, Starling lead by four points at the quarter-mark, but did it matter? People were muttering about how the Premiership wasn't quite at the level of the LigAnaia, a pecking order doubly enforced - first symbolically, when Brinemouth brought Tanya Bottlegreen back to the country as a marquee signing when she'd been liquidated so Zozi could buy Laborious Hawk, then more directly in preseason when one of the most ludicrously stacked qualifiers in history, 1830 vs. Treason, wound up with the Audioslavians routing the Stags 4-0. Another clear talking point was Cranequin City, who had defied expectations to survive for the past five years. Their luck suddenly and spectacularly ran dry, largely because they'd lost their three best players in current-Apoxian and future-Nepharan defender Frostmarris, Farfish playmaker Jevdjevic-Hadsic and future Cormorant Chrysanthe Scafidis, who would be kind of lost among the trees returning from her loan spell to Brinemouth but would later achieve infamy single-handedly keeping Olask Islanders up time after time. They're winless in their first fifteen, and get sunk easily.

People began to realise it was real when the Passerines stood nine points clear by the halfway point of the season, with Crisisbless and Brinemouth having been badly shaken up by what had been, on paper, strong acquisitions. But a miniature wobble followed; losing to the Spiders in the Cup and then, days later, in the league. Crisisbless managed to beat them shortly afterwards in a bad-tempered fixture; their former and Starling's current striker, Birgit Sternberg, had made herself remarkably unpopular in the big city with her exuberant goal celebrations, and cut a subdued figure this time being constantly taunted and having coins hurled her way. Sternberg's form doesn't really recover, her strike partner Braunbier - a veteran from their first season at this level - goes goalless in ten, Rebecca Moody continues to refuse to be fit and Kurtis Warner, the 30-year old winger and captain who has played so far above his natural level... there is a string of six matches topped off with Brinemouth edging them 1-0 where the Dockers have won the lot and Starling have scored just once. Eleven matches after the halfway point, Brinemouth have gone from fourteen points off the pace to ... one. And the Moths are just behind on goal difference. North Laithland, Coret Hawks and Crisisbless and Treason all breathe down their necks.

And yet they cling on. Goodfeather play their spoiling act and pave the way for Starling to take the top of the table, but then they collapse at home to Cranequin Wanderers, and a hard-fought 3-2 win for Brinemouth puts the Dockers back on top on goal difference. The Champions Cup ends for Nephara the way it begun; again, Laborious Hawk's Zozi win 4-0, this time over Brinemouth in the semifinals. It would be poetic if anyone could take their eyes off the league. The final matchday rolls up, and Brinemouth have their traditional quirk of the fixture list come up, yet another unforgiving visit to Chatswood. Emery Lineker pipes up; ”We’re going to destroy them. I’ll tell you straight-up, I don’t want those overpaid, glamourous little children who care more about their hair and their manicures than about good, honest sweat and toil to lift a trophy again, three times in a row - what kind of message does that send to children? Starling are a proper team, and since this has been a shit season and we’ve got nothing else to fight for, we may as well fuck the Dockers up.”

Predictably, Starling are missing Moody through injury, and Warner passes a last-minute fitness test thanks to injections. Brinemouth have a clean bill of health; Chatswood defender Brescia Stubbs vows they will not end it that way. Gallagher plays Sternberg in but her confidence has still not really recovered from Crisisbless II, and she shoots straight at Seward. At the other end, Xidhas forces an impressive save from Justinian Hargrave, then Tipio Runen has a go. Hargrave has been heroic all season. Vermillion's talisman, the overweight, one-footed Catherine Purrington, is doing tricks rather than really focusing on winning what is, for them, a dead rubber. Chatswood get stuck in. Claire Beresford tries to kill 20m man Osman Candelo; Chaplain poleaxes Juquinho. Both find themselves in the book, and to make matters worse, Juquinho finds a beautiful pass from Bosetti and slots it come minutes later. Starling now need to win; Christa Cruz almost puts them behind with a spectacular salmon-like header. Vermillion manager Gerhard MacMillan realises Purrington wants Starling to win the league, and hooks her for Tiberius Eckhart. Eckhart was a great player in his day. Today, he is 35. Gallagher races past him, plays a luscious one-two with Warner and drags a painfully slow shot around Seward with the outside of his right boot, skidding along the ground, and all the cameras capture his expression as he realises it's going to wind up just inside the post...

Woodbine gets sent off for Vermillion minutes later, almost sending Gallagher from the field. He is a Treason loanee, illustrating just how nobody expected Starling to be anywhere near the top seven, but has not at all been playing like a man with divided loyalties. Warner, the hero, slashes in a cross for Braunbier to bundle home; 2-0 Starling. It doesn't matter unless Chatswood score. Corsie with a big switch, Matheson beating Calabrese to it and firing on the turn. Goalkeeper Matt Vintner is about to have sixty seconds that the Dockers will never let him live down. It starts when Matheson's shot takes him by surprise, and he can only scramble it around the post. The next eternity, it feels like, is taken up by Gary Corsie trundling towards the corner flag. The fans serenade him with a hearty cry of "You fat bastard!" The fat bastard hooks in the set piece. Vintner loses his conviction in the sea of bodies, flaps at it. Brescia Stubbs, the murderous centre-half, hammers home a point-blank header in her final match. A one-club woman, 22 caps for Nephara, and all of it comes down to this goal, her celebration of riling up the Brinemouth fans with open taunting, the eight minutes of desperate defending that follow.

It takes time for the helicopter to ferry the trophy from Treason. Everyone thought Brinemouth would have it sewn up. Kurtis Warner lifts it, at last, and the country watches in stunned silence. Leo Hargreaves is voted Player of the Year, Moths teammate Aaliyah Johnson yet again top scorer. For the Team of the Year, Starling's Hargrave is nominated as goalkeeper, Starling fullbacks Hastings and Surman - who had to take over for Moody more often than not - flank Starling's central defence, McNessa and Fowler. Starling right winger Asif complements Starling hatchet-woman Sutton and Starling midfielder Gallagher, for whom the buyout clause of a miserly 3.5 million is, predictably, activated; Starling captain Warner sits on the left flank, with Starling striker Sternberg and Starling striker Braunbier up front. It is a saccharine gesture. And yet, it feels right.

Of course they consolidate next season. From Treason comes Gallagher and the injury-prone Claudia Cautcher, who turns into a McNessa and not a Moody. Mirko Koehler, Lucius Kaspian and Ursa Dimitar - a future journeywoman who arrives as a backup and will only stick around for one season - bolster the side. Crisisbless, for their part, sign 17-year old fullback Leona Rafford for six figures; she made headlines last season for running onto the pitch as a fan to get a selfie with Scheherazade Meier, and her ability for outrunning stewards will later translate into a century of Nephara caps. Treason acquire their third key player from again-relegated Serpentine, reigning U21 player of the year Mariska Woodspur slotting onto the right wing. Mostly, it is a season of consolidation, and relatively understated moves within the league.

The next season is... puzzling. Armstrong's first Premiership game is a 1-0 win in Brinemouth, and the Dockers don't seem to recover, winning just two from their first twelve. By the midway point, they and the Moths are mired in midtable, Vermillion are top. Sabrefell Athletic are a point above the drop zone... but the drop zone is at 28 points from 25 games. The orthodoxy of 50 points being the magic mark to stay up is abruptly swept away; Cranequin Wanderers and Southfell go down on 54, River on 50 itself despite the influence of future Cormorants manager Daniella Strauss promoted to assistant manager. Even the Chequers, in last, have a hemi-respectable 44 points, approaching one per game, and this is mirrored at the top. All is to play for on the last day... except that Starling and Vermillion Rage, somehow the two in the chase, both lose. So do Treason in third, for good measure. The Otters finish third, with the now 37-year old centre-half Hadrian Belfast voted Player of the Year and Nikita Loeher, she of the spectacularly bad timing, top scorer. Crisisbless come just 13th, but beat Extreme Hills 8-0 in the Cup final, a record that will probably stand for the rest of time.

Starling pick themselves up from their defeat - does it matter? They've won the league! Again! Even if it is with a record low points tally of 79, with twelve defeats - because there is no time to rest. But Alianza FC beat them in the CEDC Final, Leonardo Conavacio with the winner in extra time. And they must pick themselves up again, for the Champions Cup final looms. For the first time, a Nepharan side is here. For the first time, too, they win. 3-2, with Claudia Cautcher's second-half brace securing the title against the odds. Two league title and one Champions Cup in a bizarre flurry of two years from midtable. They still wait for company in the trophy room, but the expectations for more have never hung overhead at Starling. Success begets success; that is the motto of a club that has punched consistently above its weight, clawed its way into the top echelon of the league despite all understandable predictions of their downfall. A Cinderella story straight out of a Football Manager playthrough, and here to stay.

[Hampton Island]

(In locker room morning of game against Floyssauu)

Hannah Sanders: Good morning gentlemen. I have another treat for you. As promised, here our new assistants, Brianna and Brittany Carter, the twin models that played up front for our last qualifying effort. They are now twenty years old!

Brianna & Brittany: Hi guys!

Clyde Benner: Wow absolutely stunning.

Edwin Conney: I am sure they will have plenty of wonderful experience that they can share with us.

Roger Grant: Wow two of them and they look alike now I am really going to get their names confused.

Hannah Sanders: Many of you asked for them to be here, and Freestyle Mobility has agreed to pick up their contracts. They also gave me a raise, too, in case you care. They couldn’t believe how little I was making.

Hank Andrews: So who is your actual boss now?

Hannah Sanders: It’s still the asshole here. He has told me that I am on my own, so I have gone out and done things myself. Like it was not that hard to secure Freestyle Mobility’s interest.

Edwin Conney: I saw that commercial last week where they used Hank and Henry Mashburn. Good stuff.

Hannah Sanders: Even better news coming I think because Brianna and Brittany have an advertising contract with Starlight Suites, and they are getting them on board to be a sponsor of our team too. This will mean that we can start trying to move operations to Marquette instead of here in Stafford City.

Clyde Benner: We can’t just move operations to Marquette. Fans have bought tickets for the games here.

Hannah Sanders: We will still play here, but do all other activities in Marquette.

Clyde Benner: I’m not on board right now with moving to Marquette and giving us unnecessary travel when we are at home, Hannah.

Hannah Sanders: I am not just going to do it unless there is basis to do it. If the asshole here starts tampering with shit to make our experience like more difficult, then that’s when we take pictures of it. If we can then prove it to people, then we have basis to move everything to Marquette.

Edwin Conney: That is not feasible, because he is not going to refund the ticket purchasers. Hopefully he does not do anything. He is kind of smart though. I don’t think he will do something that obvious to being negative attention to himself.

Hank Andrews: Edwin, I was showing my kids that save you made on Ben Chillotov of Mercedini in the 89th minute to secure the draw. Stunning!

Clyde Benner: Yeah really, I don’t even think an acrobatic 20-year old gets that.

Edwin Conney: Thank you. It was more instincts then agility.

Hannah Sanders: That was a great save. I guess that’s how you got in the Hall of Fame!

Roger Grant: He was even better when he was a young gun!

Clyde Benner: I agree with that! I have been starting to wonder, do you think we might actually have a shot at getting to the World Cup?

Edwin Conney: We definitely have a shot. But let’s not start thinking we have to change things now because of it. We only are in contention now because of what we are doing. If we start trying to change what we are doing to get a little better, it might backfire on us and send us the other way.

Hannah Sanders: Well said. This is a bit of a trap game right here, so focus on Floyssauu first. Great job all around!

[Blouman Empire]

THE EMPIRE TIMES

Eagles Dent Xanneria Plans But At A Cost

The Blouman Empire drew 1-1 against Xanneria at City of Braxon Stadium yesterday afternoon picking up a hard-earned point from a game in which they lost two players to injury.

Devon'elle Leymore scored once again - a thumping strike after Eddy Peralta’s lay-off gave the visiting side an early lead. Lewis Parry’s side lost John Miller to injury shortly after, and were able to level the scores in the 35th minute though Luke Cousin. The Eagles then lost Brad Hunter before the break as their injury situation worsened and forced two changes before the break. Despite the setbacks they battled in the second half in which they enjoyed some sustained spells of possession and saw them pick up their first point against a top three side denting Xanneria’s aim to qualify as the fell six points behind Equestria.

Having already curled an effort beyond the post, Leymore's early strike lifted Xanneria’s spirits. It was a beautifully-worked opener, Franchesca Bonchek working down the left sent a cross that found Peralta in the box and though the forward couldn’t quite get it out of his feet to shoot, he had the right presence of mind to play it to Leymore. The lay-off was good and the right-footed finish was even better, arrowed into the roof of the net past a stationary Henry Polinoir. The Eagles lost Miller just a couple minutes later, with Mat Fox summoned from the bench, and in the 35th minute they equalised. Paul Credab's delivery found Cousin unmarked in the middle and he guided the ball into the bottom corner.

Ty Freltron fired over from distance as the Eagles looked to take the lead but their cause wasn’t helped when they lost another player, this time Hunter (who is expected to miss the next two matched), to injury with only 5 minutes till the end of the half. James Tinkery was introduced in his place but the visting side almost made the most of their opponents’ disruption. It took a wonderful save from Polinoir, who got down to turn away Leymore’s header from point-blank range, to keep the scoreline level at the break.

Though Parry’s men looked composed and controlled for spells of the second half, Xanneria began to push after the hour. In a half of few chances, the Eagles managed to hold Myrone Rhule’s side at bay, defending deeply and with discipline. Polinoir saved well once more, this time from Richard Presentino after a cross was clipped into his path at the far post, but a draw seemed a fair result in the end and a welcome one for the Empire who managed to climb a spot on the ladder.

[TJUN-ia]

After the 4-4 draw in Szensky against New Lusitania and the Algarves, no one knew quite what to expect out of the Jags in Necosia. What they didn't expect was a repeat performance, right down to the scoreline, but that's what we got here.

The Necosians were winless and wanted to use home advantage to their benefit in order to finally get 3 points on the board. Scoring 3 goals in the 1st half compared to TJUN-ia's 1 (Joe Green in the 42nd minute) was a good start for the home team.

David Seems tried to instil confidence into his men but that didn't stop Necosia from scoring again in the 50th minute. Necosia 4-1 TJUN-ia. All looked lost.

But then Prince Carter came on and at that point, the team came alive. Carter made it 4-2 with a delicate shot past the entire defence in the 71st. He then decided he wanted to take a free kick in the 79th. He sent it top bins and the goalkeeper had no chance. 4-3. Then, as the clock hit 89 minutes, David Johnson sent a corner into the box. It was headed in past the keeper by Carter.

Price Carter was definitely the hero tonight, scoring a hat-trick to salvage a point out of this game. Not the way we intended things to go but a point is a point. The next game is at home in TJUN-ia City, but up against leaders and still 100% Turori. They shipped 5 past Villablanca tonight, the team that we beat 6-1 on MD7.

Dear Margaret, have mercy on our souls. GO JAGS! Amen!

---

SCHEDULE (Updates on stadiums will occur as soon as we get them)
MD1: @Audioslavia (22) - Arena Kirola, Cathair L 1-2 (T-9th)
MD2: vs Euran Oceania Territories (84) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City D 2-2 (T-9th)
MD3: @Porticalia (330) L 0-1 (T-10th)
MD4: vs Sajnur (57) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong L 2-3 (12th)
MD5: @Jeckland (UR) - Jecken Stadium, Rack City W 2-0 (10th)
MD6: vs Natanians and Nosts (131) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky L 0-4 (11th)
MD7: @Villablanca (235) W 6-1 (9th)
MD8: BYE (10th)
MD9: vs New Lusitania and the Algarves (42) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky D 4-4 (10th)
MD10: @Necosia (341) D 4-4 (9th)
MD11: vs Turori (12) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD12: @Astograth (303) - Castle Hill, Gesterlake
MD13: vs Muradil (212) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
-----------------------Off Day---------------------------
MD14: vs Audioslavia (22) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD15: @Euran Oceania Territories (84) - Flynn Arena, Fligsive
MD16: vs Porticalia (330) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD17: @Sajnur (57) - ?
MD18: vs Jeckland (UR) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD19: @Natanians and Nosts (131) - Stadion Nacional (?)
MD20: vs Villablanca (235) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
MD21: BYE
MD22: @New Lusitania and the Algarves (42) - Estádio da Anta do Dragão, Porto
MD23: vs Necosia (341) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD24: @Turori (12)
MD25: vs Astograth (303) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD26: @Muradil (212)

[Audioslavia]

Skidoomacher Sinks Sajnur
Bulls leave it late to take the points

Once again, Sean Patterick found himself increasingly frustrated by his side’s inability to break down their opponents. Once again, the Bulls entered the final ten minutes at zero-each.

Whereas previously Patterick had opted to throw on two attackers and go for broke, with no effect, his approach this time was different. The strikers stayed on the bench, and instead defensive-midfielder Arial Skidoomacher entered the fray for the tiring John Lomax. Immediately, the two full-backs started acting more as wingers.

In short, Audioslavia went from a 5-5-0 formation to what amounted to a 2-8-0 formation, possibly a 2-4-2-2-0 if you want to get *really* stupid. Almost certainly the stupidest line-up in the history of his national team.

And yet, here we are. Audioslavia have moved to second in the table above their opponents, who drop to fourth behind Astograth. Arial Skidoomacher, a stand-out in KT Itzalovalle’s strong season, sat back and, along with fellow defensive-midfielder Iago Cacho, gave the full-backs and wingers more scope to roam free. In the 87th minute, an Anxo Osorio cross was header away by Tomasi Vuierev. Skidoomacher arrived, controlled the ball, and sent a low shot skittering across the damp Audioslavian turf and into the bottom corner beyond the late dive of an un-sighted goalkeeper.

The crowd erupted in a massive show of sheer relief.

Patterick’s men now have the mid-table trio of Jeckland, Villablanca and Natanians and Nosts still to play before the first half of qualifying. This is their opportunity to put a string of wins together to put a little daylight between themselves and the duo of Sajnur and Astograth, both only a single point behind.

Defensively, the Bulls remain sound, with only Taeshan (and, really, who else?) having conceded fewer goals throughout the fifteen groups. Patterick has to get the attack working if Audioslavia are to force themselves into the World Cup once more.

---

Part 1 (Sue)
Part 2 (Sue)
Part 3 (Emanuel)
Part 4 (Sue)
Part 5 (Emanuel)
Part 6 (Emanuel)
Part 7 (Emanuel)
Part 8 (Emanuel)


Nine players, each paying a $10,000 buy-in. The ‘house’ took just over a grand each, making a total pot of $80,000. Emanuel’s share was that extra 10k.

Yusuf was the last to arrive, and arrived without the old lady. Still as amiable as ever, he sat down and watched as his eight opponents chit-chatted idly about their own respective business adventures.

After welcoming the players, Emanuel introduced them to the croupier and bid the group farewell, retiring to the office where he could watch the game unfold via CCTV. He couldn’t allow himself to stay in the room. He couldn’t trust himself not to watch Yusuf like a hawk.

He’d already made his money. It didn’t matter at all to him if Yusuf cheated. On the other hand, this is the guy who had broken into his premises and tried to fool him. Did the 10k he’d be earning from this make up for that? Monetarily, yes. Morally? Well, they were both comitting crimes, so did the moral aspect even come into it? Either way, he felt like he’d been beaten. But then there were worse ways to lose.

Emanuel watched as the first hand was dealt. Big blind checked, small blind called, gold-chain-and-popped-collar-polo-shirt-guy called, bald guy called, Yusuf went all-in.

He hadn’t even looked at his cards.

Everyone else bugged out. Yusuf took a small pot.

Second hand. The same thing happens again. Yusuf didn’t even turn his cards over. All-in, winning a slightly bigger pot. Grumbles from around the room.

On the third hand, one of the marks rose to the bait. Yusuf, without looking at his cards, went all-in once more and won the hand. He’s started with a king and a jack, and another of each appeared in the hand.

Yusuf did this four times more before, finally, picking up his cards on the eighth hand, folding them. Emanuel didn’t see what they were.

Over the course of the first ten hands, the field had almost been halved, with four men bowing out early, losing everything. Over the next three hours, Yusuf would simply dominate.

After the game ended, Yusuf Nair was victorious, winning every penny of the $80,000 pot. As the last of his opponents left, defeated, he and Emanuel met at the bar to turn the winner’s chips into hard cash.

But for the croupier clearing things up in the poker room, it was just the two of them.

“Well played” said Emanuel, warmly, nodding at the briefcase full of cash he’d just given the victor. “The briefcase is your as well. Compliments of the house.”
“Thank you very much” said Yusuf, smiling. ”I’ve always been quite good at poker, I admit.”
“Oh, I know that now” said Emanuel, looking back at the briefcase. “Here”, he said “I wrote it on the top of your new briefcase”
Yusuf looked down, and saw nothing.
“Allow me” said Emanuel, taking his smartphone from the top of the bar and turning on the camera function. He put the camera above the rim of the briefcase. On it, written in infra-red ink, and so only visible via phone camera, was simply the words ‘I know.’”
Yusuf’s expression was inscrutable.
“You have not, I trust, serviced your printing machine recently?” asked Yusuf, with a glimmer of a smile.

After Yusuf departed with a nod, Emanuel checked the printing room and initially found nothing. Sliding open the bottom of one of the presses, the place which at one time may have housed cases of fonts, something rendered obsolete by the digital process the machine now used, Emanuel found a number of bottles of liquor. About $900 worth.

It turned out that Emanuel Portico had, materially, lost nothing, and yet gained around $20,000 from the combination of the robbery and the poker tournament.

Nevertheless, it was at this point that he decided, if ever he could be the one to give a nice surprise to Yusuf Nair, if that was even his real name, he would take it.

[Timuria]

Awkward Encounter Yields Underwhelming Win

Grod Island 3–5 Timuria
Grod Island #9 (1), Grod Island #7 (35), Grod Island #3 (58);Ismail Burhan (12), Vatan Ercetin (44), Caner Turan (49), Omer Tameroglu (76), Sabah Tanriseven (84)

by Tufan Nursultan

The Red Wolves went away to Grod Island and struggled overcome a determined side who kept pace with the Red Wolves virtually every step of the way, they managed to come away with a critical win as they head back into a tougher stretch of Group 9 play. The Red Wolves had to deal with the absence of both the first and second choice keeper after training ground accidents, meaning Saban Inekci was called upon to play, but were boosted by the return of Ismail Burhan to the starting XI.

The very start of the match held a shock for the Red Wolves as the hosts took advantage of their apparent complacence and managed to get a goal within the first minute, Saban involved in a mix up with Berker Balkan, indicating that both would be in for a long day. The Red Wolves would manage to get an equaliser rather quickly, Ismail Burhan finding himself in space after an excellent Vatan Ercetin pass that allowed the Manat frontman to pick his spot in the 12th minute.

The hosts would again retake the lead from an excellently struck free kick as Berker Balkan has conceded it with a reckless tackle that he had no business making, the 35th minute goal took the wind out of the sails of the Red Wolves who had begun to find their stride. They would, however, equalise in the 44th minute, Vatan Ercetin's well placed shot nestling in the bottom left corner ensuring the sides would head into the break level at two goals a piece.

The Red Wolves would come out of the break and get their first lead of the day as Caner Turan seized upon a bungled clearance to volley the ball home from just outside the box in the 49th minute. The hosts would equalise, this time from a towering header from a set piece where the host's centre back was left unmarked meaning the sides would enter the final 30 minutes level at 3-3.

Ismail Burhan would get taken off as a precaution to save him for the Red Wolves big match against Sargossa, Omer Tameroglu took his place and he got a goal with his first touch in the 76th minute. The scoring would end with a Sabah Tanriseven poke home after a goalmouth scramble led to the goal being at his mercy.

The result means that the Red Wolves have now won five matches in a row and now sit in fourth place, one point behind their next opponents Sargossa who will be welcomed to the Hisar Belediye Sendika Stadium in Demir. Our visitors will be coming off a narrow 1-0 win over Audiaslania and will be looking to secure their position as the main challenger to the top two sides in the group, while a full strength Timuria squad will be looking to seize third place from their opponents and use that as a platform for an unlikely surge as we approach the second half of qualifying.

What They Said After The Match:

Bekir Altingunes: "Yet again, we've seen that we can't take anything for granted, these matches aren't played out on paper. I'm pleased we're coming home with the three points and that we'll have the opportunity to go against a strong opponent and see where we really stand in this group. We'll be back at full strength and trying to learn what we can from this five match winning streak, since it's easy to think everything is perfect just because you're winning."

Player Ratings:

Saban Inekci 4/10 - Had a very bad day, riddled with mistakes and he looked awkward all day.

Ozbek Sarikaya 6/10 - A quiet, reliable day for the experienced left back.

Kemal Colak 6/10 - Had a decent day as he commanded the aerial battle well.

Berker Balkan 5/10 - Made mistakes and had to be taken off.

Gokdeniz Dag 6/10 - Took care of the right side of defence very well, even if he didn't excell.

Ertan Renda 6/10 - He had a day where he didn't make a huge impact.

Reza Karaduman 6/10 - Struggled a bit in defence, but managed to provide offensive bite before being taken off.

Caner Turan 7/10 - He got a good goal and looked dangerous all day.

Vatan Ercetin 8/10 - He had a good day and commanded play very well, including getting a goal and an assist.

Volkan Ayhan 6/10 - He didn't make a lot of impact, but he distracted the opposition well enough and didn't look a liability.

Ismail Burhan 7/10 - Got a good goal and looked competent on his return.

Substitutes:

Eyup Mustafa 6/10 - Came on and stabilised the defence when it sorely needed to be.

Sabah Tanriseven 7/10 - Got a great goal off the bench and looked energetic as well as effective.

Omer Tameroglu 7/10 - Came on for Ismail and grabbed himself a goal that paved the path to the Red Wolves victory.

Person of the Match: Vatan Ercetin - He commanded play perfectly from the number 10 slot, he got a goal and an assist as he ran the show today.

Schedule and Results:

Home stadiums will have capacity in brackets

MD1: @ Xuzaqiy W 5-3
MD2: vs Cassadaigua, Dev Halk Stadium (30,000), Demir L 3-2
MD3: @ Kelssek L 2-1
MD4: vs Barunia, Tashkent Belediye Isci Stadium (18,500), Tashkent L 4-1
MD5: @ Audiasania W 3-2
MD6: Bye
MD7: vs Olastor, Belediye Park (5,800), Demir W 3-1
MD8: @ Patistan W 5-3
MD9: vs The Mann Clan, Belediye Park (5,800), Demir W 2-0
MD10: @ Grod Island W 5-3
MD11: vs Sargossa, Hisar Belediye Sendika Stadium (27,500), Demir
MD12: @ Res Publica Nova Roma
MD13: vs Ziwana, Halkın Güneş Çiftliği Stadium (27,000), Elektriklestirme
MD14: vs Xuzaqiy, Demir-Is Stadium (5,500), Demir
MD15: @ Cassadaigua
MD16: vs Kelssek, Madenci Stadium (27,000), Uryan
MD17: @Barunia
MD18: vs Audiasania, Maden-Is Stadium (3,400), Uryan
MD19: Bye
MD20: @ Olastor
MD21: vs Patistan, Almat Jimnasyum (3,000), Demir
MD22: @ The Mann Clan
MD23: vs Grod Island, Tasova Belediye Stadium (2,000), Tasova
MD24: @Sargossa
MD25: vs Res Public Nova Roma, Dev Halk Stadium (30,000), Demir
MD26: @ Ziwana

[Sharktail]

GROUP 5 MATCHDAY 10

Mkabia-0

---

Sharktail-1
Gaby(m '47)

Line up
Ahmad
Harold
Azmi (sub m 77)
Hidawi
Ashaari
Nik akif
Azmer Ishak (sub m 63)
Azaim
Fikri
Gaby (sub m 70)
Virman

Sub
Yusri (m 77)
Hadi syah (m 63)
Sulimani (m 70)

No Fans For Sharktail

Shaktail will play without fan for match against Squorshelous,Adsuri and Vakolicci Haven and Celeria.It also stated no fans allowed for away team when played against this team in next match.Sharktail will host two game against Squorshelous and Vakolicci to complete the first leg of qualifier.

The situation happen after Sharktail Football Association receiving a letter from World Cup Commite about the prohibition.It stated.

To:Sharktail Football Association

Greeting,

Firstly i want to say thank you for your participant in World Cup Qualifier 85.We really happy to see the improvement of your football system.

The purpose this letter send to your organization is to tell Sharktail will be playing three game without any fans.We know you will shock as you hearing this news but we have finished all our investigation.

1.Home match against Zwangzug.
13 Zwangzug fan throwed by water bottle after Zwanhzug scoring their third goal in the match.

2.Away match aganst Valladeras.
6 sharktail fans arrested by local police kicking a thrasbine and try to vandalize the facilities in the stadium.

3.Away Match against Mkabia
Sharktail fan shouted and swear to the refree.The report also show three fan arrested try to bring in flare into the stadium

We have finished our investigation.We seriously for anyone try violence the rules we set.We have made this decesion after long investigation and evidence.

Here we also stated who is allowed to enter the stadium in home game.

1-Player and staff from both team
2-20 reporter from both side
3-Sharktail,Squorshelous and Vakolicci Football Association staff.(Please bring Association recognation)

We will have our staff in the stadium for all the match.

Your Cooperation we really appreciate it.Thank you.

Regard

World Cup Committe

Sharktaill will play in silent stadium until the end of first leg.SFA president Tengku Muhammad Hazim have made a statement they may facing more banning and prohibition if this keep happening.He warn the gans to watch their attitude.He also stated the number of security may increased if they receive any of this problem in the future.

---

Group 5 Matchday 11 vs Squorshelous

[Appalachian Nation]

Previous part of the sorry here - viewtopic.php?f=7&t=485258&p=37185970&sid=57ba80a0bbb3689286dea4b5c90dba9f#p37185970

Mr smith had been proud, a good amount of RPs and comments for the most part didn't deal with the controversial 8-0 victory Slavistan partook in. While Some RPs were fairly stock, some were comical like Cowboy Pete doing his thing, or Ludwigistans mascot getting hit in the face with a ball, and then some were just posts about "Yeah we won" Which if you couldn't guess was a post by onemillion simone di brandi clones. Meanwhile on day two the young Mr Smithy scorinated again, what surprises would there be?

Group 1
New Calder 0–2 Old Northeast Dolphin
Lake of the Land 0–0 Northern South

Group 1                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Northern South                                   2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
2 Old Northeast Dolphin                            2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
3 Lake of the Land                                 2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
4 New Calder                                       2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1

Group 2
Morgantown 3–2 Denmark
Tennessee 1–0 Paris

Group 2                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Morgantown                                       2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
2 Tennessee                                        2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Denmark                                          2   1  0  1    5   3  +2    3
4 Paris                                            2   0  0  2    0   4  −4    0

Group 3
Western Lands 1–1 Astrograff
Astograff 1–4 Slavistan

Group 3                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Slavistan                                        2   2  0  0   12   1 +11    6
2 Western Lands                                    2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
3 Astograff                                        2   0  1  1    2   5  −3    1
4 Astrograff                                       2   0  1  1    1   9  −8    1

Group 4
1337l4nd5 0–2 Old York
Beta City 0–1 Zeb

Group 4                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Old York                                         2   2  0  0    3   0  +3    6
2 Zeb                                              2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
3 Beta City                                        2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 1337l4nd5                                        2   0  0  2    0   3  −3    0

Group 5
Peoples Republic of South Baldlands and Rye 1–0 Punch Drunk Peeps
Lextopia and Northwest Carlsbad 2–1 Placid Waters

Group 5                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Lextopia and Northwest Carlsbad                  2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
2 Peoples Republic of South Baldlands and Rye      2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 Placid Waters                                    2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
4 Punch Drunk Peeps                                2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0

Group 6
a million simone di brandi clonez 0–1 Redditia
The Union of Blood Sweat and Tears 1–0 Ludwigistan

Group 6                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Redditia                                         2   2  0  0    3   0  +3    6
2 a million simone di brandi clonez                2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
3 The Union of Blood Sweat and Tears               2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
4 Ludwigistan                                      2   0  0  2    0   3  −3    0

Group 7
shawland 1–1 Morristania
Sportopia 3–1 Southwestern Province of Denalia

Group 7                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sportopia                                        2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
2 Morristania                                      2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 shawland                                         2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1
4 Southwestern Province of Denalia                 2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0

Group 8
Mangolia 0–4 Pittsvylvania
The Badlands 0–2 Federation of Federal Peoples

Group 8                                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pittsvylvania                                    2   1  1  0    5   1  +4    4
2 Federation of Federal Peoples                    2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
3 Mangolia                                         2   1  0  1    1   4  −3    3
4 The Badlands                                     2   0  0  2    0   3  −3    0

[Barunia]

The Scarlet Standard

Ok, so I know I haven't posted anything for a few days. The Sargossa result got me so depressed I didn't have the stomach for anything.
However, there is some good news: Tim Faulkner is no longer captain! One too many shit performances, and he gets dumped from the main team altogether.Travis Adlington takes his place, and Stefani Obando gets the captain's armband. Should Obando be captain? Only time will tell, but she can't be any worse.
Once again, Barunia's defence lets them down. 6 against Sargossa was unacceptable, and a bad showing for Barrios against his home country. But possibly just as bad was the two the Suns let in against Nova Roma, turning an easy win into a draw. That meant Barunia slipped down the group rankings to 5th place, and now have a negative goal difference. There are still 3 more games in this qualifying half, and a lot of football still to come. The question is, how long do we go for until we call this cycle bust?

Even if we don't qualify (and it was going to be a tough ask, with this team and this group), what can Barunia take away? Put simply, this is the rebuilding phase. The golden age is long gone, the empire has crumbled. Now it is time to rebuild from the ashes. We'll climb up the rankings, and with hard work we'll qualify again in time. But who is going to be responsible for that hard work? The issue facing Barunia going forward will be which players to keep, and who to let go. This is the moment for these players to make a case for their continued involvement in the Suns, and right now, there's only four or five players doing that. Neville Swan would have to be on any future team. Elwin and Moorhouse too, and probably Cross as well. Cartwright has been solid, but for me she hasn't locked her name in fully yet. As for the rest? Mendoza might have another season in him, but wether he's worth sticking with I'm not sure. That experiment of keeping an old player hanging around certainly hasn't worked with Azarola, so I suspect this will be his last run as a Sun.

The big question is, do you gut the defence? Those at the back are all on thin ice, and it's getting thinner each game. It's already claimed the first victim, and the question is, who's next? Trask is probably the best, which is to say that he sucks the least. The least rotten apple in the barrel. Will we see him, and perhaps Adlington and Elliot next cycle? Or will we have a brand new set of faces? Only time will tell. and it probably hangs on the outcome of the next few matches.

Speaking of the next matches, first up is Ziwana at Bayview. They've managed to make their way into 6th place, just below us, 2 points behind. The way Barunia is playing, a win is far from certain, but probably absolutely necessary. Then it is the ninth placed Xuzaqiy, before we host the unbeaten Dagans at Porthaven.
That's all from me. See you all at Bayview, and until next time, stau safe and Go Suns!
Troggs out.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

2:30PM - Borograd, Siovanija

Chancellor Dominik Meier entered the conference room at the National Chancellery building. Gathered in the room were the Vice Chancellor, Willi Strauss, the Minister of Defence, Sergey Sedlacek, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vojtech Horacek, the Minister of Nuclear Safety Lukas Heider as well as the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Marine, Field Marshal Reinhard Drachmann and Grand Admiral Alfred Reinmann. It was an important crowd for a very important meeting.

“Gentlemen, I’m sure you’re all aware of the reason for our meeting today. I’ve been invited to a state visit in Banija as the guest of the new Katikkiro, Mr. Kobe Aziri. Obviously, it’s a big visit just for that reason alone - continuing to build our friendship with the country. But there’s another important factor here. The Banijan government would like to discuss their nuclear program with us, specifically co-operation from our country on the program.”

There was a brief silence in the room. Field Marshal Drachmann spoke up: “What co-operation are they looking for?”

The Chancellor replied: “We believe they’re looking for help establishing the program, which is currently in its infancy. The meeting will, in fact, include the Kabaka himself, as well as most senior officials.”

There were glances between the assembled officials. This was going to be a big moment for the country, of that there was no doubt. The Defence Minister, Sedlacek spoke up: “Well, it’s definitely something we can discuss with them. Countless nations in the world are nuclear powers - we’d be hypocrites to say no to them when we ourselves have a vast amount of the weapons. And they have been an important ally for us, and will continue to be.”

Foreign Minister Horacek now spoke up. “I don’t think the concern is necessarily that - it’s the implications it has for our standing in the region. I just got back from Lakiska earlier this week - do you think the Busogans will be very happy with a nuclear-armed Banija? What about their neighbours - Timuria have already condemned the move. And the Equestrian States? We need to be very careful about this.”

Chancellor Meier spoke again. “Most certainly. It’s a very tricky diplomatic road. Minister Heider, I’m interested in your opinion here.”

The Nuclear Safety minister now spoke. “Well, due to the aftermath of the Grosser Woden test in 1958, this country has some of the strictest safety regulations when it comes to nuclear power and nuclear weaponry. It’s a subject we obviously don’t take lightly. Perhaps that could be key for us to emphasize here.”

Horacek nodded. “By working with us, Banija can show the world they intend on developing these weapons responsibly and safely. And for our part, that may just help with calming tensions over this in the region.”

The Chancellor spoke again: “We have to be careful to avoid an idea that we can come in and save the day, I think. No matter what, Lakiska isn't going to be happy with this. And while emphasizing those regulations and the responsibility of being a nuclear power will help, it won’t completely cool things over.”

The Vice Chancellor, Willi Strauss, rose to speak. “The new Busogan leader, Kasekende - what is he like?”

The room deferred to Horacek. “He’s a good man. Played football, in fact, for the Banijan national team, ironically enough. I met him at the inauguration, he spoke a lot about building relationships with the other nations in the region.”

Chancellor Meier thought for a minute before he spoke. “We’ll definitely need to smooth things over with them. Maybe invite the new President to Stelburg - I’m sure President Fleiss would be eager to host. They’ve been wanting to increase relations with us for some time now. I’ll speak to the President.”

There was a pause as the attention of the room now turned to the military men gathered. What were the strategic implications of such an action? Field Marshal Drachmann spoke up first. “We’ve built a strong relationship with the Banijan armed forces over the last few years - I’m sure you’ll agree, Alfred - and from a strategic point of view, I don’t see any real issue with them having nuclear weapons, as long as they’re responsible about it, of course.”

Grand Admiral Reinmann added his voice to the Field Marshal’s thoughts. “I have to agree with Reinhard. We provided a great deal of resources to the development of the Banijan Navy, and there’s been very strong co-operation, including many of their officers training in our academies. There’s a mutual trust between us, and if Marshal Kroupal were here, he’d echo the same.”

Chancellor Meier again spoke. “The situation isn’t exactly ideal, I think we can all agree on that. It’s a difficult one to deal with. I think, though, that this is the best case scenario. They’re going to develop weapons either way, and we can now be there to ensure they join the nuclear club safely and responsibly. I’ll draft up a letter to send to Mr. Aziri, and communicate with Dr. Zacpal from the State Strategic Weapons Institute regarding the efforts of our scientists. I’ll also speak to the President about the visit, and mention the Busoga situation to him.”

The Chancellor now paused, and looked around the table. “Sergey and Lukas, I want you to come with me on this one. And Grand Admiral Reinmann, you as well, if that’s fine. I’m also going to bring the Minister of Infrastructure, Rudolph Klauberg - I’m sure there will be more discussed than just the nuclear program, and infrastructure is an area we've worked with the Banijans on in the past.” The men at the table nodded. Later that day, Chancellor Meier’s response was sent off to Busukuma. The Chancellor was about to make his first major foreign visit.

National Chancellery - Office of the Chancellor

Most Secure

Dear Mr. Aziri,

I am very glad to accept your invitation to a state visit by myself. Forging closer ties with the world has been one of the main goals of my first term as Chancellor, and the relationship between the United Republics of Siovanija & Teusland and the Kingdom of Banija has never been stronger.

I look forward to talks on a wide array of issues, including foreign policy, security, and the economic partnership between our nations. In addition, we welcome the dialogue on the current state of the Banijan nuclear program, and are interested in discussing its future. Accompanying me to Busukuma at the highest level will be the Ministers of Defence, Nuclear Safety and Infrastructure, as well as Grand Admiral Alfred Reinmann, Chief of Staff of the Marine.

I look forward to visiting you in Busukuma for a meeting that has exciting prospects for the future of both of our great countries.

Sincerely,

Chancellor Dominik Meier

Siovanija & Teusland 3-2 Appalachian Nation, @ Olimpski-Stadion, Borograd

Starting XI: Sveteikov; Karapetrov, Maksimov, Klopfer, Spitz (Helmke 84’); Bahr (Kramer 60’), Mihailov (Brotzmann 84’), Bliznakov; von Bergen, Gaspersie, Mandl
Goals: Lutz von Bergen 12’, Johannes Mandl 47’, Thorsten Kramer 72’
Man of the Match: Lutz von Bergen
Report: The Goldhorns made their Borograd debut last night in World Cup Qualifying with a 3-2 win over Appalachian Nation. The visitors came out quite intent on attacking with their 3-4-3 formation, a similar situation to the ZSeparatists match that saw the Goldhorns have trouble containing them. Lutz von Bergen would break free on an early counter-attack to put the Goldhorns 1-0 up, but the goal was arguably against the run of play as the Goldhorns struggled to deal with the repeated attacks. The visitors would recover from the early goal, and silenced the crowd at the Olimpski-Stadion with two goals just before the end of the half, from William Robert and Cletus, to make it 2-1 at half-time. The Goldhorns came out for the second half a different side, however, and with a few tactical adjustments were much better-equipped to deal with the Appalachians’ style. Johannes Mandl would score early in the second half to even things up, an excellent shot from the top of the box that beat the keeper to the left post. Super sub Thorsten Kramer would get the winner, knocking in a second-chance effort off a corner, before a few defensive substitutions in the final minutes shored up the Goldhorns and secured the win. Next up for the national team is a trip to the Soracana Islands, who have struggled a bit so far with only 2 wins, but have managed 20 goals and will be a formidable opponent for the Goldhorns.

[Filindostan]

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Blogsite by your average VenividicciFilindostan Fan

Remember when I said that Filindostan will be in good hands when Krisna Hendra Sudirman took charge of the Pula Garudas last World Cup qualifying campaign.

It probably took a while for Sudirman to start the ball rolling for the national team, but it was worth the wait. Filindostan have took their fifth win in a row, their fourth clean sheet in a row, and their 21st point in World Cup qualification campaign. People might have started doubting Sudirman's abilities after a horror of a Campionato Esportiva hosting, and a 4-1 loss at the hands of Quebec in their very first game in the qualifiers, but I bet I would be happy for the board member from the Filindostan Football Federation (FFF) who convinced Estie Barzagia to give the manager her vote of confidence following a difficult sequence of events. More on the FFF later. I'm also happy Sudirman never gave up on his three up front tactic, whether he varied the formation of the midfield and defence from either a 3-4-3, to a 4-3-3, to even a 5-2-3 formation that is very difficult to execute if you have a neutral-minded lineup.

Going back to the FFF, I can say that they are currently the most incompetent bunch of Filindos in the multiverse. I was not happy at all with their response on the stadium fiasco during the group stage of the Campionato Esportiva that we hosted, or lack thereof. Heck, there was even a fiasco even before the tournament began, and I was getting the chills when I heard from an insider during one of the board meetings at that hideous organization that they were intent on pulling out of the Campionato, and sacking Sudirman as a direct result of failing to control his players that ultimately kickstarted the mess, until our president intervened and make the actions necessary straight from his office. I don't even see any FFF official promoting the matches of the national team, and their lousy leadership was only limited to lineup reveals at their Twii.tur andn Tiwiter accounts.

If the Office of the President were the ones pulling the strings after the mishap at Gelora Nasional, then I plead to Estrelitta Barizaga herself that she and the rest of the board should step down from the FFF, to keep their pride and faces intact.

Going back to the team, I'm proud of our starting keeper, Billy Abdi Amo. Being the goalie for their 4-0 away win at Revatnagar, he made sure to get his first clean sheet of this qualifying campaign after his superior command and positioning enabled the defense of the squad as a whole. He also made crucial saves late in the match to keep the home side goalless and ensure that they finish the match with maximum possible goal difference, which now stand at +20, an impressive +2.22 Goal Difference Per Match, and the highest among Group 15 teams. The impressive figure, along with scoring 3.11 Goals Per Match, will be very hard to maintain, but these will be the first steps if the Pula Garudas want to qualify for their first World Cup finals.

It is possible, given that the two group leaders, Brenecia and Recuecn face off at the leaders' home ground, and a possibility of them sharing the spoils is plausible, allowing the Filindos further into the mix provided they win the next match against Crystalline Caverns at the fans' return to the stands inside the national stadium in several days time.

Come on you KnightsPula Garudas!